Cake disaster
I had an awful time yesterday with a cake. :( It was a 6-tier thing, and each tier was 5" tall. They ranged in size from 9" to 4" in diameter, so basically, the cake looked like a skinny tower. My husband had suggested putting the tiers onto a cake board that had a pipe attached to it, to keep the structure straight. I didn't think we had time to do that, so I didn't give it any thought.
I put a dowel through the first few tiers, then stacked the remaining ones. They were leaning a bit, and looking not-so-great. I drove in the 2nd dowel, and then the cake looked horrible. To make it worse, I spent so much time fooling around with the structure,that I didn't have much time to decorate. The cake looked awful on every level. Wahhhh!! I'm so embarrassed by it, and can't believe I made such an awful thing.. I don't know if it even made it through the reception without falling over. In a way, it might have been better if it had ... at least it wouldn't have stood there being a glaring monstrosity.
Well, I just wanted to whine a little to some folks who might understand, lol. Thanks for lending a cyber ear. :)
I put a dowel through the first few tiers, then stacked the remaining ones. They were leaning a bit, and looking not-so-great. I drove in the 2nd dowel, and then the cake looked horrible. To make it worse, I spent so much time fooling around with the structure,that I didn't have much time to decorate. The cake looked awful on every level. Wahhhh!! I'm so embarrassed by it, and can't believe I made such an awful thing.. I don't know if it even made it through the reception without falling over. In a way, it might have been better if it had ... at least it wouldn't have stood there being a glaring monstrosity.
Well, I just wanted to whine a little to some folks who might understand, lol. Thanks for lending a cyber ear. :)
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Hanadi Asad on
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Permalink Reply by Eileen S on
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Hanadi - I think it's a beautiful cake! And the flowers don't look dead at all. I think sometimes people are looking for any way to get some money back because maybe they over-extended themselves? Did the cake get eaten? If so, then there couldn't have been too much to complain about. Maybe it wasn't as moist as the sample, but I don't think most people understand the cake for a wedding cake usually needs to be baked a few days ahead of time to allow time for settling, and all the elaborate decorating that I'm sure took you a couple of days to complete! The piping is wonderfully detailed - this isn't something most people can just whip out in an hour!! There is no way I would ever recommend a full refund on a cake that was eaten. If you want to make a good-faith gesture you could always give a partial refund. The truth of the matter is they had a lovely centerpiece for their wedding and I'm sure it was quite tasty. Please keep in mind this is all my opinion!!
Hanadi Asad said:
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Permalink Reply by Tazkera nur on
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very beautiful cake and so much detail on it I like the color and the flowers r beautiful .... I agreed with Eileen ..
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Permalink Reply by Judith Dias on
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The cake is very pretty, so dont be so hard on yourself. I have never made such a huge cake...........guess I would be very nervous & stressed if I ever make such a huge cake.......
Mary Ann Brooks said:Hubby sent a pic of the cake to me. This, of course, is the front view. The side views (didn't get pics of those) are where the cake was leaning. I can see some places where the fondant/cake is bulgy and uneven, but the front view is ok from a distance.
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I too think its a pretty cake & the flowers dont look dead to me. So dont worry.
Hanadi Asad said:
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Permalink Reply by Mary Ann Brooks on
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Deah, Anita, and Judith, thanks. :) It really was a not-professional-looking cake, and I can't imagine that the bride was pleased. She has an art degree and is also an amateur (and good) cake decorator. She is VERY detail-oriented and picky. She had to have noticed every flaw, of which there were many. But I've learned a lot from the experience, and my husband's advice was very helpful last night. I will do better next time.
Hanadi, that cake is gorgeous! Well done. The only problem I see is the same one I had with my 6-tier cake ... it's leaning, which also causes some other, minor problems with the finish. We both need that support system that Jeri was talking about, lol. Other than that, from what I can tell, your fondant work is beautiful, the flowers look fine, and the decorations are lovely. It's obvious that you spend a LOT of time on the cake, and took pride in your work. I definitely wouldn't apologize for that lovely cake, and if you had already given her a discounted price to begin with, then I'd leave it at that. The woman should be ashamed for being so nasty. Try to brush it off and move on, because you're a fine decorator!
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Permalink Reply by Lynne Salmon on
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Hanadi: You made a beautiful cake. Granted, it is not perfect. I don't see where the flowers look dead.
I agree w/others that this lady is looking to recoup some of her expences. I would offer her maybe about 1/2 as refund plus a certificate for a future cake but not a big one - like equal to a 1/2 sheet at most.
could the cake have been dry? did you have baking problems? Be sure before you reply to her.
And for future knowledge, don't give big discounts to customers:) You are in *business*. Does McD give you a discount because you frequent their resturant several times a week (or month)?? Do you get your gas for a lesser price because you fill up every other day? Start thinking like a business :) If you want to give a customer a special deal do it for something smaller - like a small cupcake or cookie bouquet at 10% off or a certificate for a 10" (single layer/1 cake mix) cake for Valentines day or Easter or 'back to school'.
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Permalink Reply by jeri c on
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Maryann... I LOVE your cake!!! I doubt that your customer noticed what we would notice! You are always so professional and your work is amazing so don't be so hard on yourself!!!
Hanadi... the worst thing I see is the phone in the background!!! Nice work!
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LOL, Jeri, you're so sweet. Thank you. And I hadn't even noticed the phone, LOL.
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Thank you all for lending me your cyber ear and letting me vent. I know that I may have been a bit more emotional initially because of the pregnancy, still think she was too harsh. As you all said, life goes on and we can only learn from our experiences. I know that I do great work and in the 6 years or so I have been doing cake, this is the first complaint so that should say something.
Unfortunately, when your in business sometimes you may have to do some things you don't feel are right but for the sake of the business and your customer satisfaction guarantee, you have to. I sent her an apology letter and told her I don't want the remaining balance, I just want to put this behind me and give her no more to talk about. It is a huge circle of friends and although I asked several people who attended the wedding how the cake was, I don't want to potentially lost any business because of her. All that I asked about the taste of the cake, said it was amazing and they even had people asking for an additional piece :-). People were shocked to hear anything about flowers too, said they looked better than her silk flowers and centerpieces.
One thing I definitely learned from this, I WILL NEVER GIVE ANY DISCOUNTS like i have been because you are my friend or my moms friend, my sisters and so on!!
Again thank you all for all the support and I look forward to being on this more often. I need to look into this support structure you are talking about for future large cakes.
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Permalink Reply by Lisa B on
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Your cake is wonderful and I agree with the poster that said they were trying to get a steeper discount. Shame on the person who told you that this cake was not well done! I see that you waived the balance I certainly hope that you at lease got your ingredients value back. I would be very reluctant to ever do a cake for this lady again though... as the saying goes fool me once (shame on you) fool me twice (shame on me).
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I did a cake this summer that I was not so thrilled about.... I told my husband as soon as the meeting with the bride and groom was over... "I am not going to like this cake" He said if it is what they want and you do it the way they want it... it's not for you to like. Sure enough... when I was done as we were delivering it I still did not like the cake... but.. they were thrilled... it fit in with their decorations perfectly and it was what they wanted. So sometimes it's not what we like but what they want that is in the end the right thing. It is too bad when their vision does not come out the way they thought it would. Life lessons!
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